LINKDING

Summary: The Institute of Religious Studies was housed in one of the oldest structures at the university, an ornate hipped-roof building that overlooked the campus from the foot of the northern peaks. Aside from the narrow drive that wound up the rise from the other side of campus, the only access was via a steep staircase or a switchbacked path that took twenty minutes to ascend. Most people on campus called it the Mountain. ➤ songxuexiao t4t4t modern au where they're grad students in china ➤ I had the pleasure of getting to see this fic as it came together, and the thought and care verity puts into their writing is always so evident in their beautifully written and beautifully constructed stories! ➤ from song lan's pov as he watches creepy stalker xue yang entwine herself into his bff (and object of pining) xiao xingchen's life ➤ sl DOESN'T trust xy, he DOES find it super hot to put her in her place and have sex with her, he DOES struggle to be fully vulnerable with xxc despite everything she is to him ➤ the vibes are so good, I love how real and present each character and their complex emotions about each other are, and I love the way the theme of the weather runs through the whole fic holding things together ➤ highly recommend! ➤ 12k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>"Really, Xie Lian, you don't even jerk it??" Shi Qingxuan insists. "I mean it's none of my business and you can tell me to fuck off, but holy shit, lady." Xie Lian laughs, feeling her cheeks color, and shrugs again. "I don't know, something about the mechanics of it just never made sense to me," she admits. "And anyway that's time I should be spending studying." / It comes out that Xie Lian's never had an orgasm. She goes to Hua Cheng for help. • theyre lesbians</blockquote> ➤ modern au where hualian are lesbians ➤ xie lian has never had an orgasm, and hua cheng offers to help by loaning her a toy ➤ obviously the help ends up going further than that ➤ it's just so cute and sweet how much xl and hc love each other and take care of each other and are clearly SUPER into each other! ➤ and how good they are about each other's weird hangups about sex! ➤ 19k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>“What do you think about,” Wei Ying said aloud, before she could stop herself, before she could even think twice about the repercussions. “When you.” She finally found Lan Zhan’s eyes, molten in the low light, and swallowed in a tiny, audible gulp. “You know.” On Wei Ying, Lan Zhan’s gaze didn’t waver even a fraction. “Giving head,” she said. Wei Ying was certain she’d misheard. “Getting head?” “No,” said Lan Zhan. / After a surprise party gone awry, Wei Ying surprises herself.</blockquote> ➤ i loved the unusual detail of them being swimmers/divers, and all the water stuff worked into the prose

Summary: <blockquote>Lan Zhan, an up-and-coming sport climber, has always kept to himself. A traditional climber, he hates Wei Ying's flashy, dynamic style on sight when they meet on the youth international competition circuit. But all that changes when a new competition format is announced, and training for it makes Lan Zhan realise that though climbing is a solo sport, it doesn't have to be a solitary one. Two years. Four cities. A Wangxian climbing AU.</blockquote>

<blockquote>In which Shen Yuan goes poking around the ruins of an old castle and ends up haunted by the ghost of Luo Binghe, demon emperor extraordinaire... .. and Shen Yuan thinks the whole "being haunted" thing is fantastic, thank you very much.</blockquote>

<blockquote>“Do you know people die of tooth infections?” “Stupid way to die,” Wei Wuxian mumbles. “I agree,” Wen Qing says. “So: you’re going to the dentist.” / While on the run, Wen Qing drags Wei Wuxian to a free clinic where they are confronted with someone from their past lives, a root canal, and the devastating suggestion of how things could be different.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Qin Su is sick and tired of this wedding. And her marriage. Nie Huaisang is conveniently present.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Role Reversal Scum Villain's Self-Saving System No Transmigration Modern AU CucumberPlane Thread.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Wei Ying is running so late to his meeting with fellow grad student-slash-friend Lan Zhan. But in Wei Ying's defense, he has just learned that his grandmother is the Baoshan Sanren, zongshi of the extremely mysterious and highly scrutinized Celestial Mountain sect. Also, she wants to name him her heir?!</blockquote>

<blockquote>Lan Huan is ready to take his relationship with Jiang Cheng to the next level. Spending the weekend at Jiang Cheng's place is definitely going to achieve that, but not at all in the ways he expected. Lan Huan didn't know his brother was seeing someone. Wei Ying didn't know about Lan Huan's shitty ex. Jiang Cheng and Lan Zhan just want their boyfriends to get through this weekend intact.</blockquote> ➤ I was sad to not see on-page the work towards repairing the relationship between lwj&lxc, but it's very good as what it is nonetheless

<blockquote>Lan Wangji is trying out a body shape when he hears footsteps on the stairs. He is already thinking he has done it wrong--he forgets, sometimes, how many fingers a hand should have, and so he makes his body have sleeves instead, to cover his mistakes. It is a man. It is a man who will scream, probably. Lan Wangji is body-shaped. Lan Wangji tries to count how many fingers the man has before he leaves. “Oh!” the man says, blinking. His eyes are whole, wide, and deep brown, with long lashes. He has a face for smiling, cheeks round and well fed, and when he smiles his eyes crease at the corners. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize anyone was up here.”</blockquote>

<blockquote>Wei Ying hires Lan Zhan to landscape her third wedding. </blockquote>

<blockquote>Wei Ying was pretty sure his next door neighbor Lan Qiren hated him until he adopted A-Yuan. Now he’s bringing by disgustingly healthy food, taking Wei Ying and A-Yuan to family dinners, and let’s not even mention the nephews he keeps hinting Wei Ying should meet. Is it possible Wei Ying, consummate orphan, has found a family in his grumpy old neighbor?</blockquote> ➤ series consists of: The stuffed bunny, the beautiful nephew, and other gifts from Lan Qiren The extravagant wedding, the gorgeous brother, and other reasons you should listen to your uncle

<blockquote>When Shen Yuan accidentally volunteers to take over a fanfic exchange from a mod who is way in over their head, he immediately turns around and makes Shang Qinghua take on most of the work. It doesn't go terribly--for them. It goes pretty bad for everyone else.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Lan Zhan looks so sad. He holds out his hand and says "Help." "Aish, this man," Wei Wuxian sighs. "What's wrong?" Lan Zhan holds out his hand a little further, insistent, and Wei Wuxian sighs again and takes it. A costly mistake that results in getting pulled deeper into Lan Zhan's apartment, squawking protests about how he's still wearing his shoes that Lan Zhan ignores. He leads Wei Wuxian down the hallway to the bedroom at the end. Then he shoves at Wei Wuxian's shoulder until he loses his balance and sits on the edge of the bed. Then he climbs on after him. / Thirteen years after he dies on New Year's Eve, Wei Wuxian is reunited with Lan Wangji.</blockquote> ➤ an amazingly good sense of place as well as development of the mood created by the narrative in the reader

<blockquote>"This is my year," Shen Yuan tells his sister when he heads off to X Factor bootcamp. He knows he's good, and he's got his story in the bag. He's watched enough talent shows and read enough insider scoops and blind items to know the story is what puts the skill over the edge. He's spent years perfecting the Shen Yuan package. It's time to deploy it. "Sure," she says, laughing. She's laughing again when he video-calls her from bootcamp. "So, bro, did you get in?" she asks. "Yeah," Shen Yuan says. His voice, he's surprised to find, is steady. "But... they put me in a group."</blockquote>

<blockquote>modern!au where... i think i may have lost my mind? cucumberplane main ship, mo-->shang, bing-->yuan, plus uh. Only having one friend. / “And that,” says Luo Binghe, the light reflecting red into his eyes as he stared at the bedroom across the garden and down a level, where Shen Yuan was sighing and smiling into his boyfriend’s mouth, glasses askew. “That’s where we bury Shang Qinghua’s body.” “Oi.” “You can keep him there forever,” says Binghe, as though this is supposed to appeal to him. “You know he’ll never leave you, never reject you, never suck face with anyone else.” “Are you crying,” says MB. “Of course I’m crying!” bawls Luo Binghe, beautiful face the picture of misery. “The love of my life is kissing some stupid little gremlin and you won’t even help me murder him!”</blockquote> ➤ OH MY GOD this is exactly as unhinged as it should be ➤ series consists of: an iceberg with your name on it face-first into the ice-cold ocean

<blockquote>Of all the things Lan Zhan expected, hoped, wished he would wake up to on his birthday, a surprise husband wasn’t one of them. char- For his birthday, Lan Zhan is given the gift of a future.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Set in modern day London. As a member of the Gusu Institute, Lan Zhan plays his part on keeping the spiritual peace in the metropolis. Wei Ying left the Institute a long time ago, but from time to time they still work together and Lan Zhan mourns the closeness they once had. Lan Zhan calls Wei Ying in on a strange case at the British Museum. Events conspire to shatter the careful barriers they have erected. So much pining. Some case fic. Emotional rollercoaster with a happy ending. Some critique of the museum as an imperialist institution.</blockquote>

<blockquote>“Zhan-jie,” Wei Ying whines, and Lan Zhan is appalled to realize that the sound sends a shiver down her spine. She wants to shut Wei Ying’s stupid mouth. She wants to tie Wei Ying’s hands behind her back and tell her exactly what she is and is not allowed to do. She. Hm. “Explain,” Lan Zhan commands her, voice going dark and heavy, and the startled look that Wei Ying gives her sends another zip through each and every one of Lan Zhan’s nerve endings. Hm, Lan Zhan thinks, again. “Well,” Wei Ying mumbles, darting glances at Lan Zhan, “well, the thing is, Baby sort of — it’s not her fault, but she, when she ran away, she sort of. She, uh. Well, she had a passenger.” “A passenger.” “The dinosaur took my nephew,” Wei Ying says, and Lan Zhan lays her forehead against the wheel and ignores the horn as it sounds. - OR: Lan Zhan, sensible museum curator and paleontologist, gets robbed, gets arrested, gets a headache, gets a wife.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Bingqiu wherein Shen Qingqiu is the world's most feared food critic, and Luo Binghe is but a humble reality cooking show contestant.</blockquote>

<blockquote>When meddling friends trick Wei Wuxian into having a date with his best friend Lan Wangji, parts of their relationship he hadn't questioned in years suddenly tumble into the spotlight.</blockquote> ➤ so I know I've said in the past that I'm not into issuefic that's About an identity, but it turns out that when it's about an identity I share that basically never gets any rep in fic then I am HERE for it? anyway aro wwx in a queerplatonic relationship with lwj!!

<blockquote>“Oh, hey,” Wei Ying says as the audiobook starts up. “Snacks?" Lan Zhan spares a glance from the road as Wei Ying hoists his tote bag of goodies and opens up some Takis. “The driver should not eat,” he says. Wei Ying stuffs three Takis into his mouth at once and mulls aloud, “You totally wouldn’t let me eat in your car if I wasn’t getting an abortion.” “Mn,” Lan Zhan agrees. Wei Ying crunches happily. “I should probably insist on being treated normally,” he says, mouth half-full, “but fuck it. Normally you’re mean to me.”</blockquote> ➤ wwx gets accidentally knocked up, and needs his work nemesis to drive him to his abortion

<blockquote>In which Mobei-Jun is summoned into the modern world by a series of accidental keyboard macros on a breaking laptop, Shang Qinghua recognizes him, and ice-portals don't immediately work. After well-intentioned if somewhat unsuccessful attempts to navigate the modern world, some revision of Proud Immortal Demon Way, a failed ritual, and a successful ritual, the two of them manage to find their own ways home.</blockquote>

<blockquote>“Nice,” Drunk Man says, into the crook of his neck, and does nothing else. Wei Ying slowly relaxes, allows himself to pat Drunk Man between the shoulder blades, and sighs. “Okay,” he says. “Glad you think so.” Drunk Man does not respond. Wei Ying wonders if he went back to sleep, and then takes a further moment to wonder why this always happens to him, why he’s always the one helping a heartbroken twink sober up after a terrible night out or sitting on the curb with a sobbing teenager with a fake ID while they wait for her parents to come pick her up. If only he was as shitty a person as White Mike, he could be home asleep right now and this beautiful man would be passed out in a gutter and probably mugged. Wei Ying looks down at the drunk man on his shoulder, thinks about leaving him to fend for himself, and sighs. Nope. Not on his watch. Or: A meet-cute at two in the morning.</blockquote>

<blockquote>listen if we’re talking AUs where someone had a bad relationship, Joe deserves to be gently supported back into a healthy relationship by all his friends and his perfect new boyfriend Nicky, okay? He deserves it. And I’m making it happen. You’re welcome.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Fuck! Shen Qingqiu read too much of that stupid stallion novel not to know what’s meant to happen. There should be a beautiful woman here, someone to soothe Luo Binghe’s fevered brow with cool hands, uncover her trembling assets and, well, you know!! But instead there’s only Shen Qingqiu. / (What if, instead of papapa to save the world, Shen Qingqiu made a different choice? That ruined everything? And then had to sit with the consequences?)</blockquote> ➤ the one where sqq dies and goes back to the modern world, and lbh gets there the long way ➤ endlessly amused by sqq's ability to not recognize his own feelings, this is perfect. Also I love every single detail in the author's notes at the end omg

<blockquote>The thing with musical prodigies is that they're soloists, and soloists play alone. He doesn't want to play alone anymore. - "A summer guest lecture series? Oh, very nice. I wish I could sit in on that." "Do you also play the piano?" "Not even a little bit," says Wei Ying cheerfully. "But I'm sure you'd have a lot of thoughts on musicality that would be relevant regardless." "Oh," says Lan Zhan. He seems to be searching for something else to say. "I believe it is oversubscribed," he says finally. "As it should be," says Wei Ying, and does not tell him that he has all of Lan Zhan's albums downloaded onto his phone, listened to over and over when he's on a train, a plane, waiting for a taxi, has followed his career since he overheard half a Mendelssohn when they were fifteen.<blockquote>

<blockquote>“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan says, and when Wei Ying turns around, Lan Zhan has followed him into the kitchen and is doing something with the empty wine glass that could almost be termed fidgeting. His fingertips tense and relax, and Lan Zhan takes a deep breath and squares his shoulders almost imperceptibly. “Would you like me to cut your hair for you?” Wei Ying’s brain skids to a halt. Oh. Huh. That would. That would be a hell of a lot easier, wouldn’t it? Lan Zhan would at least be able to see and touch the back of his head at the same time, and that’s half the battle. Even if it’s not a good haircut, it would be something, and it probably wouldn’t end with Wei Ying in tears, and it would end with Wei Ying having shorter hair, which is the only thing he really wants right now. “Yeah,” he says, a little awed. “If you don’t mind then that would be great, Lan Zhan.” He can almost feel the breeze on his undercut again, spine tingling in anticipation. Or: Lan Zhan offers to help out with Wei Ying's quarantine growout... with sexy results!</blockquote>

<blockquote>When Jaskier finds out that his ex-boyfriend is getting married, he convinces Yennefer to help him stage a fake proposal so he can ruin the wedding. There's just one problem: it turns out they both know the caterer.</blockquote>